DIY desktop help


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lhjz

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Apr 7, 2003
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hi guys
any expert IT guys here?
need some advice on building my own CPU
used to DIY(3yrs ago) but lost touch liao

main usage will be photo editing and storage

1.P4 3.2GHZ enuff?
2.mainboard brand?
3.at least 1GB RAM
4.HDD brand? 2x160MB or 1x300MB better? as 2 HDD cost slightly less than 1 big HDD
5.VGA card brand?
6.DVD RW brand?
7.casing and cooler?

the rest are not so important i suppose
thx in advance
 

AMD or Intel? :)
 

lhjz said:
intel preferably :)

:( then i cant help you with the cpu n motherboard... not too familiar with intel based rigs :bsmilie: anti-intel

but i cant help you with the rest of the stuff inside :D

Corsair TWINX1024-3200XLPRO 1GB (2X512MB) ~ $499
Leadtek GeForce 6800 GT AGP ~ $708
Hitachi 7K250 SATA 160GB 8MB 7200RPM for Storage ~ $162 x2
BenQ DW1620Pro 16X DVD±RW ~ $99
OCZ PowerStream 520W ~ $249
Coolermaster Praetorian ~ $198

But I have a feeling this is an overkill for you :think: this looks more like a gaming rig now
 

Take back Intel Boards, in case anything happens its all under one roof.

Intel Boards. get the those with HT.

most boards support up to 2gb ram so get 2 DDR2 rams.

Hitachi hdd good ?? nv used it b4.. i used Maxtor for 6year already.. haha
 

thx guys
Klose: the graphics card and RAM seems a little overkill for me

glenn: its this combi ok?
1.intel D865GBF i865G/VGA/sound/800mhz FSB/SATA/ATX/HT ~ $159
2.intel P4 3.2 LGA775 800/1MB ~ $388

thinking of getting
3. kingston 512M PC2-4200 DDR2 533 ~ 2x$119
4. seagate 160GB 7200rpm IDE ~ 2x$153 (5yrs warranty hehe ;p )
(wats the diff between SATA and IDE HDD? any diff in speed?)
5. GEcube 9600pro 256M TD ~ $185
(anyone graphics guru can comfirm whether if this is ok for photo editing?)
6. BenQ DW1620Pro 16X DVD±RW ~ $99

these 2 seems very exp leh.... din know casing and fan cost that much :bigeyes:
7. OCZ PowerStream 520W ~ $249
8. Coolermaster Praetorian ~ $198
 

Klose is immigrant of HWZ of course hardcore lah ;) Heehee.

I need to upgrade next month also.

The main factor for lhjz should be graphics card, display (CRT/LCD) and HDD space with RAM. :)
 

hw come Intel nv make one "clean" board ah ?????? clean as in no onboard craps on it...

hiaz... if no choice.. its sounds good though..
 

espn said:
Klose is immigrant of HWZ of course hardcore lah ;) Heehee.

I need to upgrade next month also.

The main factor for lhjz should be graphics card, display (CRT/LCD) and HDD space with RAM. :)

:bsmilie: I'm a gamer ;p my rig is future proof for the next 6 mths b4 i need to change all the components again :bsmilie:
 

lhjz said:
hi guys
any expert IT guys here?
need some advice on building my own CPU
used to DIY(3yrs ago) but lost touch liao

main usage will be photo editing and storage

1.P4 3.2GHZ enuff?
2.mainboard brand?
3.at least 1GB RAM
4.HDD brand? 2x160MB or 1x300MB better? as 2 HDD cost slightly less than 1 big HDD
5.VGA card brand?
6.DVD RW brand?
7.casing and cooler?

the rest are not so important i suppose
thx in advance


3.2GHz Prescott (1MB cache) is definitely enough for most graphics editing.

Motherboard: Depending on the features you need, I'd recommend MSI, Abit or Asus. All 3 have good warranty service and are fairly reliable.

1GB of ram should suffice. If you can afford it, 2GB wouldn't hurt either. But I'd rather spend the money on a Western Digital Raptor 74GB, 10K RPM HDD.

HDD. 2 x 160GB is always better than a single 300GB. They'd run faster as the drive(s) fill up and there's redundancy.

For video card, it's a personal thing. If you do not play games, getting a Powercolor or Sapphire Radeon 9600 will give better image quality than a cheap Nvidia card. If you want even better image quality, go for a 3DLabs Wildcat VP560 or a Matrox P650 or Parhelia.

For DVD-RW, you can get a TDK or Samsung or Sony. Just don't buy any Acer/ Benq writer.

Do you need a quiet computer?
If so, get a Coolermaster Hyper-48 heatsink fan for the CPU. It's dead silent and cools well enough.
Don't get psychoed into buying some other cooler just because it'd cool the processor more. You are not looking to overclock the processor.
The Hyper-48 is inaudible once the case is closed and keeps the processor cool enough.
For the PSU, get a Targan. Also very quiet. The casing I'd recommend is the Antec Super LanBoy. It's an aluminium case with 2 120mm fans. One in the front cooling the HDD's and one exhausting hot air at the back. 120mm fans move more air than multiple 80mm fans and yet, are much more quiet.

I'm personally using a Prescott 3GHz (Socket 478) w/ MSI 865PE Neo 2 motherboard & 1GB of dual-channel DDR-DRAM. My casing is the Super Lanboy. Still using the stock Intel cooler but will be swapping to a Hyper-48 soon.

I helped to do up the following configuration for a fellow forumer, av98m. He can attest to it's silence. (We're both audio enthusiast with our audio setups near our PC's, hence, the computers have to be very quiet)

Prescott 3GHz (LGA 775)
MSI 865PE Neo 3 motherboard
1GB of dual-channel DDR-DRAM
ATI Radeon 9800 VGA card
Cooler Master Hyper-48 CPU cooler
Antec Super Lanboy casing
Targan 380W PSU


FYI, on my rig, I've managed to work on 1 x 48MP file w/ 60 layers. Each layer has a 4MP image and the 60 4MP image files were still loaded in PS.
There was a slight lag of about 0.5s but it was still bearable.. I don't think you'd push your computer that hard, would you?
 

i recommend the later Intel model.

Intel 620D (64bits)
so far only seen gigabyte MBoard, but they r ok. i m using mine for 4 yrs already. :)

1GB ram min cos XP requires 512MB to run smoothly. recommend Geil (Taiwan) memory that comes with a heat sink. cheap & quite alright.

2x HDD is recommended not only becos of the factor u mentioned, but will run PShop faster & smoother if u have a separate physical scratch disk. i dun recommend Seagate or Maxtor, they have high failure rate (note: not 100% will fail)

VGA card, i wud go for ATi based for graphics use. i think now is PCI express interface, this will be more future proof for u.

if can afford, go for Plextor 716. if cannot afford go for NEC 3520A.

if u r not into overclocking, the cooler from manufacturer is enough, no need fancy stuff. i just rigged up a sys for my friend running 3GHz prescott with original Intel HSF. temp hovering about 45 degrees C.

not forgetting another important aspect: the power supply. pay a bit more for good brand, they do make a different. i m using HEC, not the top but good enough. u may look at other better brands like Antec, Cooler master, Tagam, etc.

have fun rigging. dun blow a fuse. ;)
 

I have a better solution. Get a G5 :bsmilie:
 

Ya, why dun you consider a mac?? but maybe not up to a G5....i guess imac should suffix....

FYI, mi using ibook G4 <--this is not fast enough and also not recommended. but like the portability.
 

thx for all the inputs :thumbsup:
the MAC option is out as i dun really like MAC and most imptly the price.

really sweat sweat seeing all the replies, all terms so unfamiliar, hope i dun make a fool of myself when i buy from the shops :embrass:

roughly decided to go for something like this

P4 3.2 LGA775 + Asus P5P800-MX i865G/VGA/DDR/SATA/8xAGP ~ $547
Seagate 200GB 7200RPM ~ $185
Kingston DDR2 512MBx2 ~ $238
ATI Radeon 9600 Pro 256MB ~ $182

as for the casing, i am still not sure what to buy cos i tot most casing in SIM LIM comes in bundle with PSU.
Antec Super Lanboy casing ~ $165
Tagan 380W ~ $128
Cooler Master Hyper-48 ~ $69

Total : $1514 :eek:

MOST IMPTLY: which shop to go ? seems like i can't get all the stuffs in ONE shop. Is it better to let them assemble the CPU or bring home fix myself?
 

pardon me asking but 865 chipset can support the new socket meh? i think its better to go the 64bit option esp now XP is officially 64.

looking at your qn, dun think u want a mac either. G5? thats a dual CPU with liquid cooling instead of conventional HSF. :bigeyes:

i really really dun recommend seagate & kingston. also a 2xHDD (80GB or 120 GB) is a better option for graphics scratch disk, really no kidding. but then again, thats your choice. juz my 2 cts. :)

(ps. more reliable shops r Bell sys, Chamoxa, Fuwell or Cybermind)
 

lhjz said:
thx for all the inputs :thumbsup:
the MAC option is out as i dun really like MAC and most imptly the price.

really sweat sweat seeing all the replies, all terms so unfamiliar, hope i dun make a fool of myself when i buy from the shops :embrass:

roughly decided to go for something like this

P4 3.2 LGA775 + Asus P5P800-MX i865G/VGA/DDR/SATA/8xAGP ~ $547
Seagate 200GB 7200RPM ~ $185
Kingston DDR2 512MBx2 ~ $238
ATI Radeon 9600 Pro 256MB ~ $182

as for the casing, i am still not sure what to buy cos i tot most casing in SIM LIM comes in bundle with PSU.
Antec Super Lanboy casing ~ $165
Tagan 380W ~ $128
Cooler Master Hyper-48 ~ $69

Total : $1514 :eek:

MOST IMPTLY: which shop to go ? seems like i can't get all the stuffs in ONE shop. Is it better to let them assemble the CPU or bring home fix myself?


Except for the Targan PSU, most of the other stuff like the Hyper-48, Super Lanboy, CPU + mobo + Ram + HDD are available from Fuwell.. Reliable shop and has 30 days 1:1 exchange.
 

nightpiper said:
pardon me asking but 865 chipset can support the new socket meh? i think its better to go the 64bit option esp now XP is officially 64.

looking at your qn, dun think u want a mac either. G5? thats a dual CPU with liquid cooling instead of conventional HSF. :bigeyes:

i really really dun recommend seagate & kingston. also a 2xHDD (80GB or 120 GB) is a better option for graphics scratch disk, really no kidding. but then again, thats your choice. juz my 2 cts. :)

(ps. more reliable shops r Bell sys, Chamoxa, Fuwell or Cybermind)
thx nightpiper!!

i am a layman myself :p
the CPU and mainboard comes as a bundle, its stated as a LGS775 board.
the 2MB cache 64bit cost $100-200 more leh.

I used a G4 b4, not really to my liking and i already hav a LCD screen so better not waste money.

my 20GB seagate is working fine 3yrs till now leh.
i tot kinston provide lifetime warranty? has been using it wthout problem so far. Geil is only $1 cheaper and another choice will be Crucial, are they better compared to Kingston?

i will be buying another 200GB HDD as backup later actually :)
200GB alone is definitely not enuff for me hehehe
 

lhjz said:
thx nightpiper!!

i am a layman myself :p
the CPU and mainboard comes as a bundle, its stated as a LGS775 board.
the 2MB cache 64bit cost $100-200 more leh.

I used a G4 b4, not really to my liking and i already hav a LCD screen so better not waste money.

my 20GB seagate is working fine 3yrs till now leh.
i tot kinston provide lifetime warranty? has been using it wthout problem so far. Geil is only $1 cheaper and another choice will be Crucial, are they better compared to Kingston?

i will be buying another 200GB HDD as backup later actually :)
200GB alone is definitely not enuff for me hehehe


You might want to go for the 915 or 925 chipst boards and PCI-Ex video card instead. A bit more future proof.
For 925 chipsets with the ICH6/ ICHR6, you get TCQ and can use TCQ capable SATA drives for slghtly better performance.
 

lhjz said:
my 20GB seagate is working fine 3yrs till now leh.
i tot kinston provide lifetime warranty? has been using it wthout problem so far. Geil is only $1 cheaper and another choice will be Crucial, are they better compared to Kingston?


like i said, its the failure rate high, not 100% will fail so u happen to get a lucky HDD. Kingston although lifetime warranty, but when the RAM failed (high rate also) u r replaced with another RMA RAM & this RAM also not lasting. so do u want to keep going to the service center for exchange? you may prefer to do so but i m not keen at all. pay a bit more for quality RAMs rather then the hassle of keep going to the center to change. i had such nightmare experience with Twinmos so i will want to pay a little more for brands like Crucial.

i used Geil RAM for my friend's PC cos it has heatsink. for RAM to run at that speed, heat is definitely going to shorten the life of it. so having heatsink is something i deemed important in today's computing.

agree with firefox, if u were to build a new pc, go for at least the 915 or 925 chipset. if u want more future proof, go for the 945 or 955 chipset (dual core ready).

if u happen to change ur mind about mac, i say go for the newer G5 iMac cos its 64 ready both CPU & OS. mac-mini running G4 just wudn't cut it for what u r going to do. ;)

have fun!! :thumbsup:
 

nightpiper said:
like i said, its the failure rate high, not 100% will fail so u happen to get a lucky HDD. Kingston although lifetime warranty, but when the RAM failed (high rate also) u r replaced with another RMA RAM & this RAM also not lasting. so do u want to keep going to the service center for exchange? you may prefer to do so but i m not keen at all. pay a bit more for quality RAMs rather then the hassle of keep going to the center to change. i had such nightmare experience with Twinmos so i will want to pay a little more for brands like Crucial.

i used Geil RAM for my friend's PC cos it has heatsink. for RAM to run at that speed, heat is definitely going to shorten the life of it. so having heatsink is something i deemed important in today's computing.

agree with firefox, if u were to build a new pc, go for at least the 915 or 925 chipset. if u want more future proof, go for the 945 or 955 chipset (dual core ready).

if u happen to change ur mind about mac, i say go for the newer G5 iMac cos its 64 ready both CPU & OS. mac-mini running G4 just wudn't cut it for what u r going to do. ;)

have fun!! :thumbsup:
haha... was going to buy today
but seems like i need to do some reconsiderations liao :p
 

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